The Sweet Escape is the second solo album by American pop rock singer Gwen Stefani, released by Interscope Records in December 2006 (see 2006 in music). Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her 2004 solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Stefani decided to record a second album as a way to release some of the material left over from the L.A.M.B. writing sessions. The album musically resembles its predecessor while exploring more modern pop sounds. It was released to generally negative reviews from contemporary music critics, receiving criticism for its strong similarities to L.A.M.B.
It was preceded by the lead single "Wind It Up", which charted moderately across the world, and produced the follow-up single "The Sweet Escape", which proved more successful worldwide. The Sweet Escape has reached the Canadian, U.S, & Australian top five and has peaked inside the top twenty in the UK. The Sweet Escape Tour, started in April 2007, covered North America, Central America, Australia, Asia and Europe.
